THOUSANDS OF NEWLY INSURED PEOPLE MEANS MORE PATIENTS FOR PHYSICIANS WHICH NOW CAN MEAN LONGER WAIT TIMES FOR APPOINTMENTS. W-L-K-Y'S ANNA-LYSA GAYLE TAKES A LOOK AT THE PROBLEM. ANNA-LYSA, WHAT ARE DOCTORS SEEING? VICKI, RIGHT NOW THE NUMBER OF NEW PATIENTS OUTNUMBER THE NUMBER OF PRIMARY CARE PHYSICANS. FACILITIES LIKE THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE PHYSICIANS' OFFICES ARE SEEING SOME OF THE SIDE EFFECTS WITH THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NOW IN MOTION. BETWEEN JANUARY AND MARCH, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE PHYSICIANS' OFFICES HAS SEEN MORE THAN 400 ADDITIONAL PATIENTS DUE TO THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. "Without insurance you're basically just a person that's sitting waiting to die." SINCE APRIL, MORE THAN 400-THOUSAND PEOPLE LIKE CARLOTTE WOODS HAVE ENROLLED IN KENTUCKY'S HEALTHCARE CONNECTION. IT'S SOMETHING GOVERNOR STEVE BESHEAR CELEBRATED. Gov. Steve Beshear/ Kentucky: From the beginning, I knew KYNECT would change the course of Kentucky's history by helping hundreds of thousands of Kentucky families. WOODS SAYS SHE WAS WITHOUT INSURANCE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AND NOW THAT SHE IS INSURED SHE IS FINALLY ABLE TO GET TREATMENT FOR HER LIVER PROBLEM. "I have life-threatening diseases that I never knew that I had." DOCTOR DIANE HARPER, THE CHAIR OF FAMILY AND GERIATRIC MEDICINE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE PHYSICIANS SAYS NOW THE CHALLENGE IS FITTING THE NEW PATIENTS INTO PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS' SCHEDULES. "We have about a 2-3 week wait to get people in for new patient care." "We need more Primary care physicians that's a basic fact. We've needed more primary care physicians for a long time. We're hopeful that the state and the Federal governments will provide more funding for positions." WOODS SAYS IT TOOK BETWEEN A WEEK AND TWO WEEKS TO GET AN APPOINTMENT. DESPITE THE NEW PROBLEMS DOCTORS FACE, DR. HARPER THINKS THE NEW MANDATE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE IS HELPING MORE THAN HURTING THE SYSTEM. "The affordable care act will give us a great opportunity for us to increase our Primary Care force and to really be able to provide the levels of primary care that we need in our population. I think Kentucky will be a happier state for that." "The facility here at University of Louisville Cardinal station has saved my life." DOCTOR HARPER SAYS ONCE NEW PATIENTS ARE ESTABLISHED IN THE SYSTEM, IT'S POSSIBLE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FASTER. SHE ALSO ADDS THERE IS AN OVERALL SHORTAGE OF MORE THAN 30-THOUSAND FAMILY MEDICINE PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS ACROSS THE U-S. ANNA-LYSA GAYLE W-L-K-Y NEWS.